so I’ve FINALLY started to make my way down across the orange curtain. i’ve got kairakutei and kohryu so far. i was actually very impressed with kohryu, and can only imagine what it was like before the change in ownership a couple of years ago.

what else is there to check out?

i know of ebisu, mentatsu, and gomen.

chabuton and mitae are no more, right?

anything else beyond that? dishes to recommend? any suggestions would be aprpeciated ^^.

If you’re in OC definitely go to Ebisu. It’s not the same as a long time ago but it’s what I grew up on. Edjusted has been going there for years too. If you go back to Kohryu then ask for the Paiko-ramen. It’s not on the menu but the chef will usually make it ‘tokubetsu’. It’s a shame that Kohryu is not what it used to be. Even after my recent run of eating ramen, I find myself missing the “original” Kohryu.

thanks for the tip keizo! paiko ramen, eh? i’m imagining shisen ramen’s paiko, which is kind of like a pork cutlet floating atop the noodles. i’ll have to try ebisu next…

Oh man, thanks for reminding me about Ebisu.  I haven’t been there in over 8 years.  I’ll go there tomorrow for lunch.  Been a while since a had decent ramen.  I ate at Kohryu about 5 months ago and it wasn’t as good as I remember it.  The soup was very cloudy and the noodles sucked.  But since you at there fairly recently and gave it a decent review, I’ll have to make my way back down there and try it one more time.

I think the top 2 ramen shops in Orange County are still Shin-sen-gumi in Fountain Valley and Santouka in Costa Mesa (inside of the Mitsuwa Supermarket Eatery place).  You can also try the Ebisu ramen in Fountain Valley (very close to Shin-sen-gumi) and Tampopo ramen in Irvine.  Both Ebisu and Tampopo have been in Orange County for a long time.  To me they have decent remen, but not the greatest.  Finally there is Honda-ya in Tustin that actually specialize in Yakitori.  I often have a bowl of ramen at Honda-ya because it is pretty good and I never get full with just yakitori alone.

i just order more yakitori ^^, then polish it off with a chazuke or something, at least at SSG lol…